Kurnool Bus Fire Claims 20 Lives: Inside India’s Long, Tragic History Of Deadly Bus Infernos

Last Updated:October 24, 2025, 13:36 IST

The Kurnool blaze is the latest in a line of catastrophic bus fires that have killed hundreds across India over the past decade, exposing glaring gaps in highway and vehicle safety

At Least 12 Killed as Bus Catches Fire in Andhra Pradesh

In the early hours of Friday, a private air-conditioned sleeper bus operated by Vemuri Kuveri Travels caught fire after colliding with a motorcycle near Chinnatekuru village in Andhra Pradesh’s Kurnool district. The vehicle was en route from Hyderabad to Bengaluru and was carrying approximately 40 passengers at the time of the incident. The fire broke out around 3:30 am, rapidly engulfing the bus while most passengers were asleep.

According to a PTI report citing officials, the death toll has now reached 20.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the crash ruptured the motorcycle’s fuel tank. The leaking petrol, combined with friction and a possible spark, is believed to have triggered the blaze. The two-wheeler remained lodged beneath the bus, further intensifying the flames.

The bus door got jammed due to a short circuit and the vehicle was completely gutted within minutes.

Kurnool Range DIG Koya Praveen told PTI, “About 19 passengers, two children and two drivers survived the mishap." Most of the survivors, officials added, were in the age group of 25 to 35.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu ordered a formal inquiry into the cause of the incident. Police records also revealed that the bus had 16 challans against it, including for overspeeding, dangerous driving, and licence violations.

This is not the first such tragedy, nor even the only one in October this year. Just ten days earlier, another fatal fire unfolded in Rajasthan, underlining a troubling pattern of long-distance private bus accidents in India that escalate into mass-casualty events due to systemic safety failures.

Major Bus Fire Incidents Across India In Recent Years

Jaisalmer Horror: 21 Dead, 16 Injured

On October 14, a private air-conditioned sleeper bus carrying 57 passengers, including families and children, caught fire near Thaiyat village, approximately 10 kilometres from Jaisalmer. The bus had been fitted with an AC system just five days prior and was considered a new acquisition. Within minutes, the vehicle was engulfed in flames.

21 people, among them three children, were charred beyond recognition. 16 others battled severe burns in local hospitals. Prime Minister Modi expressed grief and announced similar compensation as in the Kurnool case. Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma visited the accident site and hospitals in Jodhpur.

The bus reportedly caught fire near the Army War Memorial. Army personnel arrived swiftly and assisted in the rescue. Investigators suggested a short circuit in the AC unit may have triggered the fire.

May 2025: Fuel Leak Fire On Lucknow Flyover

In May, another deadly fire occurred when a double-decker sleeper bus travelling from Bihar to Delhi caught fire on Lucknow’s Vivek Khand flyover. The vehicle, which had 80 passengers aboard, experienced a fuel leak from a ruptured tank that reportedly ignited, turning the upper deck into a fire trap.

Five people, including two children, were killed, and 20 others were injured. The cause was traced to a combination of poor maintenance and structural defects, although no official inquiry report was made public.

November 2023: Hubballi Crash, 7 Dead

In November 2023, a private sleeper bus in Hubballi, Karnataka, hit a road divider and caught fire. 7 people died in the incident.

July 2023: 25 Dead in Buldhana, Maharashtra

On July 1, 2023, a private sleeper bus operated by Vidarbha Travels caught fire on the Nagpur–Mumbai Expressway near Buldhana. A total of 33 passengers were on board when the vehicle’s tyre burst, sending it crashing into a road divider. The collision ruptured the fuel tank, containing over 500 litres of diesel, which fed the flames.

25 people, including three children, died and eight others were injured. The bus was reduced to a metallic frame before emergency services could arrive. Most of the victims were burnt alive inside the sleeper cabin. This incident triggered calls for better emergency exits, fire suppression systems, and inspection of tyre quality on commercial long-haul vehicles.

October 2022: Nashik Blaze Kills 12, Including Child

On October 8, 2022, a Mumbai-bound private sleeper bus hit a trailer truck in Nashik and caught fire. The bus had a seating capacity of 30 but was carrying 53 passengers. 12 persons, including a two-year-old child, were killed and 43 were injured.

June 2022: 21 Killed In Gujarat

In June 2022, a private bus collided with a tanker in Navsari, Gujarat, killing 21 people. Details about the fire element in this case are limited, but the crash resulted in a blaze that engulfed both vehicles.

2013: Twin Tragedies In Mahabubnagar And Haveri Leave 52 Dead

One of the deadliest incidents in India’s history occurred in Mahabubnagar, Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), on October 30, 2013. A Hyderabad-bound AC bus operated by a private agency hit a culvert on the Bangalore–Hyderabad highway. 45 people, including an infant, were burnt to death. The vehicle’s diesel tank ruptured, and the fire trapped nearly everyone onboard.

Just two weeks later, another accident occurred in Karnataka’s Haveri district, when a multi-axle Volvo bus travelling from Bangalore to Mumbai caught fire after ramming a road median. Seven persons, including five from one family, were killed and 30 others injured.

A Pattern Of Failures

Across all these cases, the causes vary: tyre bursts, fuel leaks, AC short circuits, or high-speed crashes. But the consequences remain strikingly similar. Most of the incidents occur between midnight and dawn, when passengers are asleep, and most involve private operators running long-distance services with modified sleeper configurations.

No Lessons Learnt?

While each tragedy has triggered momentary outrage and state or central responses, including ex gratia payments and probes, the pattern shows little long-term change. In many cases, buses had a history of violations. In others, they were brand new but inadequately tested or illegally modified.

What remains common is the lack of accountability in the private inter-city transport sector, and the absence of consistent, centralised safety regulation.

Unless stringent fire safety standards are implemented and enforced across all private carriers, and emergency response training is made mandatory, India will continue to see long-distance journeys turn into mass casualty events.

Karishma Jain

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...Read More

Karishma Jain, Chief Sub Editor at News18.com, writes and edits opinion pieces on a variety of subjects, including Indian politics and policy, culture and the arts, technology and social change. Follow her @kar...

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News explainers Kurnool Bus Fire Claims 20 Lives: Inside India’s Long, Tragic History Of Deadly Bus Infernos

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